Immersion cleaning devices are widely used in many different industries to clean and/or chemically treat a variety of manufactured products. For instance, immersion cleaning devices are widely used in machine shops to clean dirt, grease and other contaminants from used parts that are in need of repair. Furthermore, immersion cleaning devices are also commonly used to clean newly manufactured parts after a machining operation, wherein the machining operation contaminates the parts with residual machining oils, machine chips or other debris.
Immersion cleaning devices operate by immersing contaminated parts into a cleaning solution. The contaminated parts and/or cleaning solution is then agitated to provide the needed cleaning action. The cleaning solution used within the immersion cleaning device is dependent upon what contaminant is to be removed from a particular object. Such solutions can be hydrocarbon based, however due to environmental concerns, water-base solutions used in conjunction with detergents are typically used.
In a manufacturing environment, where it is desirable to clean a large number of parts at one time, parts are conventionally grouped into batches. A batch of parts is then entered into the immersion cleaning device where all the parts in the batch are cleaned simultaneously. Since immersion cleaning devices are used to clean a large variety of objects, such devices conventionally come equipped with wire mesh baskets or containers. These containers are sized to fit properly within the immersion cleaning device. The containers are filled with the batch of parts to be cleaned and is used to confine the movement of the parts during the cleaning procedure. This also allows multiple containers to be filled with batches of parts in advance, so that the containers can be quickly loaded and unloaded into the immersion cleaning device. Consequently, the amount of downtime experienced by the immersion cleaning device is reduced and more parts can be cleaned in a given period of time.
There is a large variety of techniques for producing agitational movement within various prior art immersion cleaning devices. A common agitational movement is that of vertical reciprocation, wherein the contaminated parts are repeatedly cycled up and down within the cleaning solution. Such prior art devices are currently being manufactured and are exemplified by the immersion cleaners of Kleer-Flo Company of Eden Prarie Minn., Machine Model Nos. PW200, PW500, PW1000 and PW2000 which are being sold under the tradename POWERMASTER.RTM. part washers. Such immersion cleaners are also exemplified by the immersion cleaners of Man-Gill Chemical Company of Cleveland Ohio, Machine Model Nos. 3MALH, 4MALH and 5MALH sold under the tradename MAGNUS.RTM.. In such prior art immersion cleaning devices contaminated parts are placed upon a platform. The platform is then rapidly vertically reciprocated within the cleaning solution. The movement of the container of parts and the platform within the cleaning solution, agitates the cleaning solution thereby adding to the cleaning operation.
Using a purely vertical reciprocal movement is not highly effective in removing contaminants and debris from blind holes and other depressions that may exist on the surfaces of the parts being cleaned. For example, if machining chips were present in a blind hole on a part being cleaned, and the chips were not flushed out of the blind hole during the reciprocal movement, the chips may not be removed. To improve the agitation of parts within immersion cleaning devices, immersion cleaners have been developed that rotate the contaminated parts within the cleaning solution. The rotational movement of the parts repeatedly changes the orientation of the parts and increases the probability that contaminants and debris in blind holes will be removed. Such prior art devices are exemplified by the immersion cleaners of Bowden Industries Incorporated of Huntsville Ala., Machine Model Nos. RB-160 and RB-300, sold under the tradename LIQUID TURBO-CHARGER.TM.. Such prior art devices are further exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,881 to Harper, et al, entitled AUTOMATIC CONVERSION IMMERSING MACHINE. In such prior art devices, the contaminated parts are retained within a rotating assembly. As such, the part containers must be loaded into, and removed from, the rotating assembly each time a batch of parts is processed. This results in a large amount of downtime for the immersion cleaner as it is loaded and unloaded, thereby reducing the capacity and efficiency of the immersion cleaner for any given period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,351 to Grube, entitled ROTO DUNKER AND PROCESSING HOT TANK discloses an immersion cleaning device having a transportable rotating assembly in which various containers of parts can be placed. The prefilled rotating assembly can then be loaded into the immersion cleaning device in a single operation, rather than having to load several containers of parts into a stationary rotating assembly. Consequently, different rotating assemblies can be employed within the immersion cleaning device, thereby reducing the amount of time required in loading and unloading the immersion cleaner. Furthermore, the Grube patent discloses an agitation cycle that both rotates the part containers and reciprocally displaces the part containers. The use of a transportable rotating assembly allows the rotating assembly to be moved from one immersion cleaning machine to another without having to unload the part containers. However, in the Grube patent the rotating assembly is transported using a hoist apparatus which makes the transportation of the rotating assembly between separate machines a labor intensive and time consuming operation.
In many applications, the cleaning of manufactured parts is a process that has multiple steps. For instance, the parts to be cleaned may be presoaked in a degreasing bath, washed, rinsed and then dried. In immersion cleaning, it is impractical to empty and refill a single immersion cleaning machine with the different solutions needed for the various steps in the cleaning procedure. As such, parts are usually transferred from one machine to another, wherein each machine is dedicated to perform a separate cleaning procedure. Since the parts to be cleaned are held within wire mesh containers, it is typically these containers that are moved between the separate machines. In conventional immersion cleaning machines that use purely a vertical reciprocal movement, the transfer of part containers between machines is relatively simple. Roller conveyors can be placed between adjacent machines. The containers of parts can then be pushed along the roller conveyors from one machine to another.
Such simplistic transfer systems do not work on immersion cleaning machines that utilize a purely rotational agitating movement. In some prior art immersion cleaners, the part containers must be manually removed from the rotating frame, transferred to the second machine and reloaded into the rotating frame of the second machine. In other systems, such as that found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,881 to Harper et al., the rotating frame travels above separate immersion baths, selectively submersing the parts container into each bath. In either application, the mechanisms used to rotate the parts container within the cleaning solution are located above the parts container, and move in conjunction with the rotating parts container.
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide an immersion cleaning apparatus that cleans parts utilizing both a reciprocating and a rotational agitating movement and further provides a transfer system wherein the parts being cleaned can be efficiently transferred between separate machines.
It is further objective of the present invention to provide an immersion cleaning apparatus which operates to isolate the cleaning solution before, during and after the cleaning procedure, thereby reducing the loss of solution and the loss of heat from the solution by convection.